|
Home
World
Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
American Samoa
Andorra
Angola
Anguilla
Antarctica
Antigua Barbuda
Arctic Ocean
Argentina
Armenia
Aruba
Ashmore Cartier Isle
Atlantic Ocean
Australia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Bahamas
Bahrain
Baker Island
Bangladesh
Barbados
Bassas da India
Belarus
Belgium
Belize
Benin
Bermuda
Bhutan
Bolivia
Bosnia Herzegovina
Botswana
Bouvet Island
Brazil
British Indian Ocean
British Virgin Islands
Brunei
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Burma
Burundi
Cambodia
Cameroon
Canada
Cape Verde
Cayman Islands
Central African Rep
Chad
Chile
China
Christmas Island
Clipperton Island
Cocos
Colombia
Comoros
Congo
Congo Republic
Cook Islands
Coral Sea Islands
Costa Rica
Cote d'Ivoire
Croatia
Cuba
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Estonia
Ethiopia
Europa Island
Falkland Islands
Faroe Islands
Fiji
Finland
France
French Guiana
French Polynesia
Antarctic Lands
Gabon
Gambia
Gaza Strip
Georgia
Germany
Ghana
Gibraltar
Glorioso Islands
Greece
Greenland
Grenada
Guadeloupe
Guam
Guatemala
Guernsey
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Haiti
Heard McDonald Isle
Honduras
Hong Kong
Howland Island
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indian Ocean
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Ireland
Isle of Man
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Jarvis Island
Jersey
Johnston Atoll
Jordan
Juan de Nova Island
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kingman Reef
Kiribati
Jan Mayen
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
Latvia
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macau
Macedonia
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Marshall Islands
Martinique
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mayotte
Mexico
Micronesia
Midway Islands
Moldova
Monaco
Mongolia
Montserrat
Morocco
Mozambique
Namibia
Nauru
Navassa Island
Nepal
Netherlands
Netherlands Antilles
New Caledonia
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria
Niue
Norfolk Island
North Korea
N Mariana Islands
Norway
Oman
Pacific Ocean
Pakistan
Palau
Palmyra Atoll
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Paracel Islands
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Pitcairn Islands
Poland
Portugal
Puerto Rico
Qatar
Reunion
Romania
Russia
Rwanda
St Helena
St Kitts Nevis
St Lucia
St Pierre Miquelon
St Vincent Grenadines
Samoa
Sandwich Islands
San Marino
Sao Tome Principe
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Africa
South Korea
S Ocean
Spain
Spratly Islands
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Suriname
Svalbard
Swaziland
Sweden
Switzerland
Syria
Taiwan
Tajikistan
Tanzania
Thailand
Togo
Tokelau
Tonga
Trinidad Tobago
Tromelin Island
Tunisia
Turkey
Turkmenistan
Turks Caicos Islands
Tuvalu
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
United States
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Vatican
Venezuela
Vietnam
Virgin Islands
Wake Island
Wallis and Futuna
West Bank
Western Sahara
Yemen
Yugoslavia
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Guide
Introduction
| |
| Background: |
First settled by the French
in 1604, French Guiana was the site of notorious penal settlements until
1951. The European Space Agency launches its communication satellites
from Kourou. |
| Location: |
Northern South America,
bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Brazil and Suriname |
| Geographic
coordinates: |
4 00 N, 53 00 W |
| Map
references: |
South America |
| Area: |
total: 91,000 sq
km
land: 89,150 sq km
water: 1,850 sq km |
| Area
- comparative: |
slightly smaller than Indiana |
| Land
boundaries: |
total: 1,183 km
border countries: Brazil 673 km, Suriname 510 km |
| Maritime
claims: |
exclusive economic zone:
200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
| Climate: |
tropical; hot, humid; little
seasonal temperature variation |
| Terrain: |
low-lying coastal plains
rising to hills and small mountains |
| Elevation
extremes: |
lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Bellevue de l'Inini 851 m |
| Natural
resources: |
bauxite, timber, gold (widely
scattered), cinnabar, kaolin, fish |
| Land
use: |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 0%
forests and woodland: 90%
other: 10% (1996 est.) |
| Irrigated
land: |
20 sq km (1993 est.) |
| Natural
hazards: |
high frequency of heavy
showers and severe thunderstorms; flooding |
| Environment
- current issues: |
NA |
| Geography
- note: |
mostly an unsettled
wilderness |
| Population: |
177,562 (July 2001 est.) |
| Age
structure: |
0-14 years:
30.47% (male 27,669; female 26,428)
15-64 years: 64.05% (male 61,457; female 52,266)
65 years and over: 5.48% (male 4,937; female 4,805) (2001
est.) |
| Population
growth rate: |
2.74% (2001 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
22.02 births/1,000 population
(2001 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
4.77 deaths/1,000 population
(2001 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
10.14 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2001 est.) |
| Sex
ratio: |
at birth: 1.05
male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.18 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.03 male(s)/female
total population: 1.13 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
13.61 deaths/1,000 live
births (2001 est.) |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total population:
76.3 years
male: 72.97 years
female: 79.79 years (2001 est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
3.17 children born/woman
(2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- adult prevalence rate: |
NA% |
| HIV/AIDS
- people living with HIV/AIDS: |
NA |
| Nationality: |
noun: French
Guianese (singular and plural)
adjective: French Guianese |
| Ethnic
groups: |
black or mulatto 66%, white
12%, East Indian, Chinese, Amerindian 12%, other 10% |
| Religions: |
Roman Catholic |
| Literacy: |
definition: age
15 and over can read and write
total population: 83%
male: 84%
female: 82% (1982 est.) |
| Country
name: |
conventional long form:
Department of Guiana
conventional short form: French Guiana
local long form: none
local short form: Guyane |
| Dependency
status: |
overseas department of France |
| Administrative
divisions: |
none (overseas department of
France) |
| Independence: |
none (overseas department of
France) |
| National
holiday: |
Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
| Constitution: |
28 September 1958 (French
Constitution) |
| Legal
system: |
French legal system |
| Suffrage: |
18 years of age; universal |
| Executive
branch: |
chief of state:
President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by
Prefect Dominique VIAN (since NA January 1997)
head of government: President of the General Council Andre
LECANTE (since NA March 1998); President of the Regional Council Antoine
KARAM (since 22 March 1992)
cabinet: NA
elections: French president elected by popular vote for a
seven-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice
of the French Ministry of Interior; presidents of the General and
Regional Councils are appointed by the members of those councils |
| Legislative
branch: |
unicameral General Council or
Conseil General (19 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve
six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council or Conseil Regional
(31 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held NA March 2000 (next
to be held NA 2006); Regional Council - last held 15 March 1998 (next to
be held NA 2004)
election results: General Council - percent of vote by
party - NA%; seats by party - NA; Regional Council - percent of vote by
party - PS 28.28%, various left parties 22.56%, RPR 15.91%, independents
8.6%, Walwari Committee 6%; seats by party - PS 11, various left parties
9, RPR 6, independents 3, Walwari Committee 2
note: one seat was elected to the French Senate on 27
September 1998 (next to be held NA September 2007); results - percent of
vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; 2 seats were elected to the
French National Assembly on 25 May - 1 June 1997 (next to be held NA
2002); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RPR 1,
PSG 1 |
| Judicial
branch: |
Court of Appeals or Cour
d'Appel (highest local court based in Martinique with jurisdiction over
Martinique, Guadeloupe, and French Guiana) |
| Political
parties and leaders: |
Guianese Socialist Party or
PSG [Antoine KARAM]; Guyana Democratic Forces or FDG [Georges OTHILY];
Rally for the Republic or RPR [Roland HO-WEN-SZE]; Socialist Party or PS
[Pierre RIBARDIERE] (may be a subset of PSG); Walwari Committee
[Christine TAUBIRA-DELANON] |
| Political
pressure groups and leaders: |
NA |
| International
organization participation: |
FZ, WCL, WFTU |
| Diplomatic
representation in the US: |
none (overseas department of
France) |
| Diplomatic
representation from the US: |
none (overseas department of
France) |
| Flag
description: |
the flag of France is used |
| Economy
- overview: |
The economy is tied closely
to that of France through subsidies and imports. Besides the French
space center at Kourou, fishing and forestry are the most important
economic activities. The large reserves of tropical hardwoods, not fully
exploited, support an expanding sawmill industry which provides sawn
logs for export. Cultivation of crops is limited to the coastal area,
where the population is largely concentrated; rice and manioc are the
major crops. French Guiana is heavily dependent on imports of food and
energy. Unemployment is a serious problem, particularly among younger
workers. |
| GDP: |
purchasing power parity - $1
billion (1998 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
NA% |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing power parity -
$6,000 (1998 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA% |
| Population
below poverty line: |
NA% |
| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
2.5% (1992) |
| Labor
force: |
58,800 (1997) |
| Labor
force - by occupation: |
services, government, and
commerce 60.6%, industry 21.2%, agriculture 18.2% (1980) |
| Unemployment
rate: |
21.4% (1998) |
| Budget: |
revenues: $225
million
expenditures: $390 million, including capital expenditures
of $105 million (1996) |
| Industries: |
construction, shrimp
processing, forestry products, rum, gold mining |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
NA% |
| Electricity
- production: |
440 million kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- production by source: |
fossil fuel:
100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1999) |
| Electricity
- consumption: |
409.2 million kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- exports: |
0 kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- imports: |
0 kWh (1999) |
| Agriculture
- products: |
rice, manioc (tapioca),
sugar, cocoa, vegetables, bananas; cattle, pigs, poultry |
| Exports: |
$155 million (f.o.b., 1997) |
| Exports
- commodities: |
shrimp, timber, gold, rum,
rosewood essence, clothing |
| Exports
- partners: |
France 62%, Switzerland 7%,
US 2% (1997) |
| Imports: |
$625 million (c.i.f., 1997) |
| Imports
- commodities: |
food (grains, processed
meat), machinery and transport equipment, fuels and chemicals |
| Imports
- partners: |
France 52%, US 14%, Trinidad
and Tobago 6% (1997) |
| ......Debt
- external: |
$1.2 billion (1988) |
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
$NA |
| Currency: |
French franc (FRF); euro (EUR) |
| Exchange
rates: |
Euros per US dollar - 1.0659
(January 2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US
dollar - 5.8995 (1998), 5.8367 (1997), 5.1155 (1996) |
| Fiscal
year: |
calendar year |
| Telephones
- main lines in use: |
47,000 (1997) |
| Telephones
- mobile cellular: |
NA |
| Telephone
system: |
general assessment:
NA
domestic: fair open wire and microwave radio relay system
international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat
(Atlantic Ocean) |
| Radio
broadcast stations: |
AM 2, FM 14 (including 6
repeaters), shortwave 6 (including 5 repeaters) (1998) |
| Television
broadcast stations: |
3 (plus eight low-power
repeaters) (1997) |
| Televisions: |
30,000 (1997) |
| Internet
country code: |
.gf |
| Internet
Service Providers (ISPs): |
2 (2000) |
| Internet
users: |
2,000 (2000) |
| Highways: |
total: 1,817 km
paved: 817 km
unpaved: 1,000 km (1998) |
| Waterways: |
3,300 km navigable by native
craft
note: 460 km navigable by small oceangoing vessels and
coastal and river steamers |
| Ports
and harbors: |
Cayenne, Degrad des Cannes,
Saint-Laurent du Maroni |
| Merchant
marine: |
none (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with paved runways: |
total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with unpaved runways: |
total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 5 (2000 est.) |
| Military
branches: |
French Forces, Gendarmerie |
| Military
manpower - availability: |
males age 15-49:
49,495 (2001 est.) |
| Military
manpower - fit for military service: |
males age 15-49:
32,052 (2001 est.) |
| Military
expenditures - dollar figure: |
$NA |
| Military
expenditures - percent of GDP: |
NA% |
| Military
- note: |
defense is the responsibility
of France |
| Disputes
- international: |
Suriname claims area between
Riviere Litani and Riviere Marouini (both headwaters of the Lawa) |
| Illicit
drugs: |
small amount of marijuana
grown for local consumption; minor transshipment point to Europe |
......
|
